SÃO PAULO INDY 300 - Race Report

Monday, April 30, 2012 - 11:15

SERVIA: P11, BOURDAIS: P18, De SILVESTRO: P24, LEGGE: P26

Lotus DDR driver Oriol Servia showed impressive speed on the streets of Sao Paulo as he crossed the line in 11th place, despite starting 23rd due to an engine change and taking a drive-thru penalty en route.

Sebastian Bourdais finished 18th and hoped for more, but he was mugged at the re-start – the long straights making life difficult for the Lotus-powered machines. His Lotus Dragon Racing team-mate, Katherine Legge, hit the wall at Turn 10 on Lap 20, bringing the shutters down on her day. It was a frustrating mistake for the British driver because, at the time, she was lapping faster than the cars ahead of her. Simona di Silvestra also went for an early bath when gearbox gremlins set upon her Lotus HVM and, after ten laps stuck in sixth gear, she was forced to retire.

Oriol Servia (#22 -Lotus DRR): "We almost didn't make the start of the race. The guys did an amazing job. They were working until the last second putting the engine together and we didn't think that we were going to make it. Somehow we picked up the best result of the year and we'll take it."

Sebastien Bourdais (#7 – Lotus Dragon Racing): “You just need to look at the splits from the race: We have three fastest sectors (corners only : Turns 1 & 2, then T5 and T6) but it is not enough when we get in a pack of cars for a restart or a straight fight. We could have finished in the top 10 if we had not been collected in a multi-car incident that put us a lap down, but that’s racing.”

Katherine Legge (#6 Lotus Dragon Racing): “For the first time this year, we were actually faster than a few of the cars in front of us. I clipped the rear against the wall coming onto the back straight. Normally, that wouldn't cause much damage, but it depends on the angle of the impact. I thought it was just a flat tyre, but we came in and found out it was a bit more than that.”

Simona de Silvestro (#78 – Lotus HVM Racing): "I think we ran pretty good in practice this morning and we were looking forward to having a good race. The guys on the team have been doing a great job and working really hard. I feel bad for them that we couldn't finish the race. Now we just have to go back and work hard to get everything working right for Indy."